Perspectives | Period Instruments
Staunton Music Festival takes a deep interest in presenting music from 1500-1850 on period instruments, both originals and replicas. Among SMF artists are many acclaimed for their expertise on period string, wind, brass, and keyboard instruments, as these Perspectives reveal.
What Exactly is a Violone?
SPONSORED BY DREAMA ANDERSON
The modern double bass (or contrabass) has a long history reaching back into the Renaissance, when it was known as a violone or bass viol. Heather Miller Lardin takes a few minutes to show four violone from her collection, including instruments suitable for Bach, Haydn, and Schubert.
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Historical Flutes with Immanuel Davis
SPONSORED BY HUGH & CONNIE WESTFALL
The flute changed dramatically from the Baroque to the modern era, and with those changes have come changes in tonal quality and color. In this Perspective, Immanuel Davis talks about three Baroque and early Classical flutes that he uses in his Staunton performances, including instruments ideally suited to Bach, Haydn, Beethoven, and Schubert.
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Alek Fester, an Oboist Abroad
SPONSORED BY JUDITH WIEGAND
Oboist Alek Fester first performed with Staunton Music Festival as a Young Artist in 2007. Since then he has gone on to study at the famed Schola Cantorum in Basel, Switzerland, one of the world's most distinguished conservatories for specialists in early music. In this Perspective, Alek shows his collection of period oboes and discusses their expressive differences in performances from Bach to Schubert.
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Ed Matthew on Historical Clarinets
SPONSORED BY ANNE SILLS AND LIZA DELZELL
From his home in New York City, clarinetist Ed Matthew talks about his collection of period clarinets, ranging from Baroque chalumeaux through the classical era to modern instruments. Musical excerpts from Schubert, Beethoven, and others demonstrate the amazing range and tonal quality of this single-reed instrument.
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The Lowest (of the Low) Double Reeds
SPONSORED BY BOB BARRON & FRED BLANTON
Developing out of earlier predecessors, the bassoon and contrabassoon provide the foundation of Baroque and Classical ensemble music. Whereas the contra adds notes nearing the very bottom of human hearing and is used for particularly grave or grand situations, the bassoon is a regular feature of the Baroque continuo section. In this video, Keith Collins explains the instruments' origins, design, and highlights a few works in which they play key roles.
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Fires, Invasion, and Splendor: a Baroque Trumpet's Life
SPONSORED BY CHRISTINE & MICHAEL BURCH
Historically, the trumpet played the all-important role in civic life of signaling alarm--from invading armies to fires ranging within city walls. But gradually, in musical terms, it shed earthly connections to herald heavenly splendor. In this Perspective, Seattle-based baroque trumpeter Kris Kwapis talks about her instruments and the repertoire she loves to perform.
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Understanding the Natural Horn, or Who Needs Valves Anyway?
SPONSORED BY LISA & BILL MOORE
The valveless or natural horn developed over many centuries, and with each change came an evolution in musical style and expressive range. Todd Williams takes you into the very heart of the instrument, showing its construction and differing ways to produce its distinctive sound, so evocative of nature and nostalgic allure.
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At Home with Andrew Willis
SPONSORED BY JOHN SILLS
Acclaimed pianist Andrew Willis welcomes you to see and hear two of his own early keyboards: a Bösendorfer from 1841 and a Pleyel built in 1848. Both are ideally suited to the performance of Mendelssohn, Schumann, and Chopin. Andrew discusses differing Viennese and Parisian tastes and how these preferences influence each piano's basic mechanism and construction.
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